You can only have ONE with you

[ras]

The reason I chose the RSK Mk1 isn't because it's the best, it's because that's the last knife I'd be without. If I'm wearing pants I have an EDC folder. Even my Fehrman Peace Maker would be added after I had buckled my belt. This scenario is just another reason I don't like these "Only One" topics. All things being equal, I'd have the EDC folder and the Peace Maker would be carried horizontal just left of my belt buckle. Both knives would be on me as I swam to shore. Bigger knives would not be on me.

 

[SkunkWerX]

Why? Who said you were stranded where it is cold. This thread has taken that turn, where I spend most of my time you only NEED a fire 3 or 4 months out of the year. And as I have said I think I would be on the move before all of the down wood could be consumed. Unless this scenario is really about zombies taking over the world, except for the north woods. Chris

Chris,

You eatin raw food for the other 8 months?
Out of doors, 24x7, even in NC, I'd say there would be cool evenings in September and even May where you'd want/need a fire.
But, with that spoken, I also agree you can travel, even for your wood, and nature has a way of dropping dead sticks in the forest everytime the wind blows hard. I add my camping/hiking experiences, we always used deadfall. Only time I use a saw is to make a notch while doing rustic woodworking, only time I chop in the wilderness would be to build shelter, and that can be done with a stout knife.

Cleaning a fish or a bird with an axe would be a bit awkward, no, it would be A LOT awkward! Just as doing heavier chopping and cutting would be awkward to impossible with a small thin blade.

And folks, speaking of Mountainmen, they didn't have the advtanges we have of modern metalurgy! Back then, Axes held up due to their heft more than anything. Basic affordable blades were thin, brittle, and metalurgy was questionable. That's why "MountainMen" chose butcher knives, they were among the cheapest/stoutest blades around, which made them less susceptible to breakage. MountainMen weren't known for their vast wealth, so, they were carrying what they could FIND or AFFORD, not what was necessarily the "BEST".

But, back on topic, these "if you could pick" Scenarios aren't very realistic, however they do spark a lot of chatter.

How bout this:
I'd take a single razor blade, I like a challenge!
:thumbup:


An asteroid just hit, power is out, traffic gridlocked, no water, chaos and pandemonium are rampant, streets and even walkways impassable.
What do you have in your pockets, on your person, RIGHT NOW???

I have a Gerber Folder and my LeathermanSquirt P4 on my keychain.

 

[Jenner 515]

Right now?

Case Seahorse whittler (left pocket)

Case Bartender knife (right pocket)

I could be in trouble if the asteroid did just smack into the planet

 

[SkunkWerX]

Right now?

Case Seahorse whittler (left pocket)

Case Bartender knife (right pocket)

I could be in trouble if the asteroid did just smack into the planet

But, this is the point others have even made, when would we EVER get a choice? It's what we have with us at the time of the disaster/situation.

You have 2 more useful items in your pocket, than 80% of America has in their pockets, on that I will bet a beer! 80% (or more) of America has a cell phone, a pen, and their car keys. That's it.

We may not be Ultra-prepared, but we are a little better off than most!

CHEERS!

 

[runningboar]

Chris,

You eatin raw food for the other 8 months?
Out of doors, 24x7, even in NC, I'd say there would be cool evenings in September and even May where you'd want/need a fire.

It certainly doesn't take an axe or a mega chopper knife to build a little squaw fire to cook some food, and there is a whole lot of difference in want and need, a good leaf pile goes a long ways.

In my pockets right now? Left breast, gerber task light on a 550 lanyard with a fox 40 micro on it also; right breast, cell phone; left shoulder shot records, writing pad, pen and pencil; left pants, front, small mag/flint with a fire straw; left pants rear, bill fold with needle, several yards of powerpro and a couple of fish hooks; right pants, front, BM AFCK and a mini bic, right side belt, leatherman wave. Chris

EDIT: I also have a seiko chronogragh on my left wrist with a mini compass and ID tags around my neck, this is my everyday EDC unless I am doing something out of the ordinary.

 

[SkunkWerX]

It certainly doesn't take an axe or a mega chopper knife to build a little sqauw fire to cook some food, and ther is a whole lot of difference in want and need, a good leaf pile goes a long ways.

In my pockets right now? Left breast, gerber task light on a 550 lanyard with a fox 40 micro on it also; right breast, cell phone; left shoulder shot records, writing pad, pen and pencil; left pants, front, small mag/flint with a fire straw;
right pants, front, BM AFCK and a mini bic; left pants rear, bill fold with needle, several yards of powerpro and a couple of fish hooks; right side belt leatherman wave. Chris

OK OK, I'm with Runningboar when the asteroid hits, rest of you hosers are on yer own!!

Man, a pile of stanky burnin leaves?
Least we can do is find some twigs and pine cones.

As a matter of fact, pine cones burn very very hot. OF course, they burn real fast, also.

 

[misanthropist]

stout knife.

Cleaning a fish or a bird with an axe would be a bit awkward, no, it would be A LOT awkward! Just as doing heavier chopping and cutting would be awkward to impossible with a small thin blade.

Man, I have to say I don't agree at all! Chopping with something light and thin is beyond awkward; it's terrible. But I have found that actually, most delicate work is surprisingly easy with an axe. I would MUCH rather use one of my axes to clean a fish or bird than my Scrapyard Guard, for instance. Naturally I would prefer to use a small knife, but in fact, my experience is that axes adapt amazingly well to small chores. Much better than small knives adapt to big chores, or even than big-ish knives adapt to smal chores.

YMMV, but I would be surprised!

 

[runningboar]

OK I am axe ignorant but an axe has no point, how could you clean a squirrel or a trout with an axe? A bird I can see I can clean birds and rabbits with nothing but my hands their skin is delicate and rips, a big fish I can see fileting with the axe but a tough old squirrel or a 7" trout I don't see at all. Cutting figure 4 triggers, really wittling any kind of small implement with an axe and keeping my fingers seems tough. I tell you what, yall have convinced me, I am going to buy a wetterlings hunters axe and give this stuff a try, evidently I have been short changing axes. Chris

 

[mrostov]

Axes can be more agile than many think. It often depends upon the axe. My Norlund Voyageur hatchet has a .75 pound head and a 3" bit. The handle is 12" long. The way it's built you can hold it and use it as an ulu knife for a wide variety of tasks. If I had just it and my Leatherman I would be fine.

 

[lmalterna]

"An asteroid just hit, power is out, traffic gridlocked, no water, chaos and pandemonium are rampant, streets and even walkways impassable.
What do you have in your pockets, on your person, RIGHT NOW???"

I LIKE these questions- like a challenge coin...
I have a tiny SAK, Spyderco Delica serrated, Emerson Commander and SOG Powerlock. I work in a computer room wearing shirt/tie and khakis. If I make it to the the parking lot, my odds improve.

2Door

 

[ras]

An asteroid just hit, power is out, traffic gridlocked, no water, chaos and pandemonium are rampant, streets and even walkways impassable.
What do you have in your pockets, on your person, RIGHT NOW???

Since I just got out of bed all I'm wearing is a pair of khaki shorts which has my EDC folder (RSK Mk1)and fortunately, my Mission Wallet(Peak 1xAAA LED, SAK Pioneer, Leatherman Micra, 2x1/8" ferro rod, and a signal mirror). I take it that the backpack at my feet is too far away

 

[texastonydobbs]

If I am at work and this happend, LM wave & RAT -3:thumbup: . If I am piddling around the house or just casual and this happend probably a Kershaw scallion ,other odds & ends in the pocket chapstick and belly button lint for tinder guess I oughta carry a firesteel on me if carrying tinder huh?

 

[ras]

An asteroid just hit, power is out, traffic gridlocked, no water, chaos and pandemonium are rampant, streets and even walkways impassable.
What do you use to call 9-1-1 and get help from FEMA? How will the President declare a state of emergency and activate the National Guard? Would that make us safer? SkunkWerX little scenario is great because outside help will not arrive in this scenario's foreseeable future. 9-1-1 will be out for the duration and FEMA will have nothing to draw upon even if you could get a phone to work. YOYO -- as it should be.

 

[Scottman]

so mrostov, that hatchet is what you would take? Because the whole time, I thought you meant a "big" axe?

My grandpa knew an "old timer" who would gut and skin deer with a tomahawk. If I remember right I think he said that the guy had the underportion of the hawk head sharpened for an inch or so.

What's the best knife for a survival situation?
-The one you're carrying.
Why do people own more than ONE knife?
-To take the best one for the job at hand.
And/or
-To adapt their tools for the environment to which they will be going.

So if you're in a sinking aircraft, the best tool is one that you can get out of thier with without it catching and bringing you down with the aircraft. Simple.

In paulsen's hatchet= its a hatchet
In the movie Edge= its a single blade locking folder
In black beauty= its a multi blade folder
In castaway,= its nothing but he does make iceskate axe

Everyone has thier choice, and preference to what they would pick.

-Scottman

 

[Vorpal Blade]

Everyone has thier choice, and preference to what they would pick.

Yep. My sentiments exactly. And no matter what you have, it's the use you make of it that counts. The perfect tool will produce little result if it's potential is not utilized. And a less than perfect tool can sometimes be amazingly effective if the user is resourceful.

 

[beckerhead]

Right now I am at work with my Camillus Heat, a set of keys, and a little cash. So I could hopefully cut, hack, and slash my way to my truck 50 feet away where I have a full set up for a minimum of 72 hrs. with NO other resources, so I could, with luck, make it 20 blocks to the hacienda where we are fully prepped for hunker down, or bug out. The entire family knows our "oh crap" plan, so I feel OK with just my lowly Heat to get me through to round 2.

 

[mrostov]

so mrostov, that hatchet is what you would take? Because the whole time, I thought you meant a "big" axe?

My grandpa knew an "old timer" who would gut and skin deer with a tomahawk. If I remember right I think he said that the guy had the underportion of the hawk head sharpened for an inch or so.

It's an old Norlund Voyageur. It has a 3" bit and a Hudson Bay style head. I have the edge convex ground so it chops well but is also a pretty good ulu knife. The handle is 12". The head is 14oz. If I had to buy a new one over the counter, I don't know if I could find another old Norlund, so I'd get a Granfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet.

 

[pitdog]

Exactly.
I would not want to risk breaking the only knife that I had by doing extreme stuff with it, like batoning.
You can split logs with a rock and a carved wood wedge, or a rock wedge.

And again, in all my 40 years of camping, hiking, and practicing survival skills, I've never had the need to chop.

In theory what you are saying is true but in an actual survival situation the time factor could be critical.
If you have fallen through ice or into a river and it is winter time you are going to need a fire fast. You are not going to fashion an axe or splitting wedge from rocks incase you damage your knife, you are going to obtain dry wood as fast as you can by whatever means is the fastest.
If you are stuck in a canyon or need to assend a mountain you will use your knife as a piton if required, to hell with chipping the blade you need to get out.
If you are tired and starving and you see a lily with an edible bulb you will not waste time and energy making a digging stick you will just jab your knife into the soil and dig out the bulb !!!
It is for this reason that I choose my survival knife based on the criteria that it is highly unlikely to fail me whatever I put it through !!!

My survival knife is at the bottom of the pic.....it is very unlikely to fail me !!!

I am not having a go at you or anybody else,this is just my view and many may not share it and that's ok !!!

 

[beckerhead]

After re-reading the original post, I am still needing some parameters. I am in the south, and therefore, even my worst winters are feeble compared to some of the guy's here. Also, if I begin my epic journey in say, August I am much more inclined to walk in with just my Wave, or Mora, while if I started mid November I would opt for a bigger heavy chopper, as I would not have the luxury of 3 months of deadfall gathering. If I started in March I may just go with an 18" Ontario machete. In my area, I could make it with any of the above, but the specifics make a difference at least initially.

 

[XMP]

But, this is the point others have even made, when would we EVER get a choice? It's what we have with us at the time of the disaster/situation.

Everyone has a choice everyday when they stick things in their pockets or stap something to their belts. That's the point. When you prepare for the possibility of something going wrong, even though you are just going on a little day hike or flying to a fishing camp on a small plane that you've been to 10 years in a row, do you make the smartest choices in what you carry.

I know I haven't always, but I constantly am trying to make better ones.


BTW I'd love to timewarp a group of mountain men to Blade and see what they did. My bet: they'd be congregated around the Busse Group and Ranger table.